Even before an Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence company opened a data center in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, air pollution was so bad that residents of a nearby neighborhood were far more likely to get cancer from industrial air pollution than average Americans. Our analysis found that air pollution got only slightly worse as a result of the data center.
The xAI Supercluster began operations on Sept. 1, 2024, powered by natural gas turbines that began operating before the company applied for the required air pollution permits. As environmental health researchers at the University of Memphis, we were immediately concerned about the potential for the turbines to pollute the air even more and decided to investigate.
